Transcript RIPCHORD
RIPCHORD – Realizing Improved Patient
Care through Human-Centered Operating
Room Design
Mapping and Graphically Analyzing Tasks as a Means to Understand and Inform Operating
Room Design for Improved Safety Outcomes and Operational Efficiency
James H. Abernathy, III, MD, MPH, FASE
Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, The Medical University of South
Carolina
Scott Shappell, PhD
Professor and Chair, Dept. of Human Factors and Systems, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
David Allison FAIA, ACHA
Alumni Distinguished Professor and Director of Architecture + Health, Clemson University
Representing the RIPCHORD research team including Scott Reeves MD/MBA, Gary Palmer,
Gregory Swinton and Joel Greenstein PhD
Presentation Overview
The Healthcare Problem
Safety & Outcomes
Efficiency
The Problem Context
The Architectural Problem
The Pilot Study
Graphic Methodology
Findings
Discussion
The Healthcare Problem
Improving Safety, Outcomes and Operational
Efficiency in the OR.
Little understanding of the role the design of the OR
in these issues
Lack of Human Factors research that links
measures of safety to the physical design of the OR
The Problem Context
IoM Report on Safety, 1999
44,000 to 98,000 people die
each year from medical
accidents
Cost of errors equals $17
billion to $29 billion
20% = Surgical errors
16% = Medication errors
Disruptions have been correlated with surgical
errors (r = 0.67)
160 interruptions in flow per case
In CT surgery 17.4 teamwork
breakdowns per hour
87% of litigated surgical cases had a communication
failure between providers
12.3 % of cardiac surgical cases suffer
from a preventable error
7 % of surgical admissions have a human error
16 % of inpatients harmed by human error
“If medical errors were a disease, they would
be the sixth leading cause of death in
America—just behind accidents and ahead of
Alzheimer's”
Marty Makary, MD – Johns Hopkins General Surgeon
WSJ – September 2012
Medical Errors kill enough people
each week to fill 4 jumbo jets
Problem Context
Never Events in the OR
A Complex Milieu
Intense life and death event
Complex procedures
Lots of equipment
Many players
Surgeons
Nurses
Anesthesiologists
Perfusionists
Residents/Students
Transient Observers
Functional/Spatial Stages
1. Pre-Op: Room set up
Nurses set up and prepare
sterile tables. Frequent trips to
sterile core
Anesthesia personnel check
machines, prepare medications
and equipment
Perfusionists prime and prepare
the cardiopulmonary bypass
machine
Functional/Spatial Stages
2. Pre-Op: Patient arrival
Patient brought in by anesthesia
team
Patient is greeted by OR team –
Perfusionists, Nurses, Surgeons,
Anesthesiologists
Induction of Anesthesia occurs
which includes insertion of
invasive monitors
Functional/Spatial Stages
3. Pre-Op: Patient Preparation
After induction of anesthesia
Anesthesia team: TEE
performed
OR Team: Patient is positioned
for the operation
Surgeons: Vein harvest site is
identified
Functional/Spatial Stages
4. Pre-Op: Timeout
Structured conversation to
ensure
right patient,
right operation
Ensure OR team is on same
page
Functional/Spatial Stages
5. Pre-Op: Patient Prep
Patient is washed with
chlorhexidine
Patient is wrapped and draped
with sterile drapes
Anesthesia drape goes up
Functional/Spatial Stages
6. Operative Phase: Incision
OR nurse moves surgical
instrument tables close to the
patient
Surgeons make incision in
patient chest
Anesthesiologist continue to
monitor and treat patient vital
signs
Perfusionists continue preparing
bypass machine
Functional/Spatial Stages
7. Operative Phase: Chest Open
Patient’s chest is opened by
surgery fellow
Left Internal mammary artery is
harvested
Vein harvested from patient’s leg
by attending surgeon
Functional/Spatial Stages
8. Operative: Bypass begun
Anesthesia confirms adequate
anticoagulation and appropriate
physiologic state for bypass
Perfusion moves equipment into
place near patient and prepares
lines
Surgery team inserts cannulas
and as a group, patient is
transitioned onto cardiopulmonary
bypass
Functional/Spatial Stages
9. Operative Phase: Bypass Ends
Patient separated from
cardiopulmonary bypass
Surgeons remove cannulas and
bleeding stopped.
Scrub Nurse begins inventory of
surgical materials/instruments
Heart-lung machine shut down and
disconnected “teardown” begun by
perfusionists
Functional/Spatial Stages
10. Operative: Chest Closed
Surgeons close chest
Scrub Nurse completes inventory of
surgical materials and instruments
Anesthesia continues hemodynamic
and hematologic management.
Perfusion moves heart-lung machine
back or out of room
Perfusion boom returned to dormant
position along wall
Functional/Spatial Stages
11. Post-Op: Transition
Surgical drapes and wraps
removed
Instrument tables pushed back
against wall
Anesthesia team prepares
patient for transport to ICU
Functional/Spatial Stages
12. Post-Op: Patient Exit
Patient moved onto gurney from
table
Patient transported back to
recovery or ICU by remaining
team members
Functional/Spatial Stages
13. Post-Op: Close out
Scrub and Circulating Nurses
clean up remaining equipment
and close out procedure
Functional/Spatial Stages
14. Post-Op: Room Turn-over
Environmental Service Staff
clean up room
EVS staff sets up room for next
procedure
Pilot Study Site: MUSC
The Medical University of SC
Quaternary Care Academic
Medical Center
Ashley River Tower [ART]
opened 2008.
10 OR Surgical Suite with
clean core
2 rooms dedicated to cardiac
procedures
XX Cardiac procedures
annually
RIPCHORD
Realizing improved patient care
through human-centered operating
room design (RIPCHORD)
Two industrial engineers with
expertise in HF workflow disruptions
observed 10 cardiac operations from
entry into the OR until they left for
ICU.
Each disruption was documented on
an architectural layout of the OR suite
and time stamped during phase of
surgery (pre-operative, operative,
post-operative).
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Our goal was to develop a
standard taxonomy for observing
flow disruptions
1080 unique observations
Identified six main categories
Communication
Usability
Physical Layout
Environmental Hazards
General Interruptions
Equipment Failures
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Initial conclusions of RIPCHORD
Layout was the single largest contributor to flow disruptions in
the cardiac OR.
Interruptions and usability continue to impact surgical flow, but
communication failures occurred less than expected.
Environmental factors and equipment failures were infrequent
As expected, disruptions varied across phase of the operation
with layout impacting pre-operative and operative phases
The perfusionist was differentially impacted by layout issues
Notably, nurses were most often impacted by interruptions
Historically Little Focus on Physical Environment/Layout
Screened 1400 articles
55 studies involving error in cardiac surgery
Tasks
Tools
Team
Patient
Provider
Organization
Physical
Environment
15
14
9
4
3
7
0
The Architectural Problem
Most human factors research does not provide useful
design related information on:
Physical movement between discrete tasks and work points
Configuration of the physical environment [equipment & room]
Physical barriers, obstacles and points of congestion
Traditional Human Factors Tools
Link Analysis
Indicates functional linkages
between activities and work
points but not movement path[s]
through space.
Does not indicate the real and
potential physical constraints,
and areas of congestion
Does not indicate points of
potential risk or hazard.
Broad Architectural Questions
Does the physical configuration of the OR setting
[both architectural space and movable equipment]
impact clinical safety, outcomes and performance in
the OR?
If so, can links between errors or more specifically
task interruptions, critical clinical activities and the
built environment be established, geographically
anchored and visually documented?
Specific Architectural Questions
Where do critical activities and movements occur?
Where are the places of highest volume of
movement and activity?
Where are the places of potential or actual hazards,
constrained movement or high risk activity?
Are there co-relationships between task interruptions
or errors, clinical movement and activities, and
spatial elements?
OR Study Site
Room Area:
662 NSF
Room Dimensions:
29 x 24.6 Feet
Room Specs:
Surgical Boom
Anesthesia Boom
Perfusion Boom
Movement/Link Analysis Process
Movement Links: Pre-op
Nursing – Anesthesia – Perfusion – Surgeons
Line density = frequency
Line width = physical movement path
There is a significant amount
of movement and activity
throughout the room by nursing,
anesthesia and perfusion
personnel in preparation for a
procedure.
Movement Links: Operative
Instrument tables and
perfusion equipment is
moved close to the surgical
table.
The circulating nurse,
anesthesia and perfusion
personnel continue to move
about during the operative
phase of the procedure.
Movement Links: Post-Op
Surgical instrument tables
are moved back to wall
Perfusion equipment is
moved back and broken
down, tubing is unplugged
and discarded
Patient is transferred to a
gurney and taken to ICU or
Recovery.
Interruptions: Pre-Op
Interruptions at the in-swinging
entry door with the perfusion
boom, perfusion equipment
and personnel.
Anesthesia work area at the
head of the table is congested,
as there are three or more
people working in the center of
surrounding anesthesia
equipment and supplies in tight
quarters.
Interruptions: Operative
The perfusion area is a
congested thoroughfare
Perfusion near entry door
conflicts w traffic entering room
Access to patient side of
equipment is behind surgeon
Anesthesia personnel continue
to move about within their
constrained workspace.
Interruptions: Post-Op
Conflicts continue at in
perfusion area in general
Conflicts continue at the inswinging entry door during
transfer of patient and
movement of gurney.
Recommendations
Expand anesthesia
work space at head of
table
Expand space for
perfusion between table
and wall and/or
eliminate travel through
area
Swing entry doors out
and/or relocate closer to
the footwall of the room.
IMPLICATIONS
Separately, layout and human factors play a critical role in
surgical flow and patient safety.
However, when considered together the implications for
healthcare architecture are magnified.
To fully understand the complexities of cardiac surgery and
implications for surgical flow, a systematic approach to
disruptions that include architecture, human factors, personnel,
and traditional medicine are required.